Education gets mentioned often when discussing the future. Politicians push the notion that with more time in the classroom almost anyone can be transformed into a desired and productive employee. The theory sounds great, but in the future there might not even be classrooms in a traditional sense.
Millions of students now attend non-traditional college. The University of Phoenix might be the most famous of these, but there are plenty of other colleges that enjoy massive online enrollment such as Strayer University, Colorado Technical University and Kaplan University share the Phoenix model and cater to non-traditional students online. The Internet might be responsible for the popularity of these schools, but schools that found success due to the online format are hardly the only universities with an online presence. Almost every post secondary school from Harvard to the local community college offers some form of classes online.
Some critics do not believe in the online classroom model. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings believes that improvement and innovation in teaching software will eliminate many of the criticisms of this style of learning. Hastings admits that teaching software has its limitations. He said that using a computer works best when there are definite answers to questions. Computers might not be able to teach a student how to be a better poet, but it can teach almost anyone the basics of mathematics.
Hastings is now the successful CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation, but his background makes him a credible source on teaching software. Hastings began his career as a math teacher in the Peace Corps. His experience and the success of his company display the dua nature of technology. The same delivery methods that provide viewers with a preferred movie might soon be used for students to pick a desired course. Even though it might be difficult to completely replace the human experience of the classroom this delivery method could be an inexpensive way to educate students.